DEAR DR. BLONZ: I am interested in your thoughts on pesticides and organic fruits and vegetables. What are the dangers of foods grown using pesticides, and what is your view of the benefits of the alternatives (such as buying organic)?

N.T.

DEAR N.T.: Health experts consider the hazards from pesticides to be well behind other dangers in our food supply, such as bacterial contamination and naturally occurring toxins. However, pesticides do pose a challenge. One alternative is organic agriculture, where foods are raised without synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Another, called integrated pest management (IPM), limits the use of synthetic chemicals whenever possible, although they remain a part of a farmer’s arsenal to be called upon when needed.

Farmers markets can be a great source for organically grown fruits and vegetables or those produced on farms that practice IPM. An increasing number of supermarkets offer these foods as well.

The discussion of organic vs. conventional agriculture needs to go beyond the safety of the foods we eat. Such concerns must also include the risk to workers who manufacture, transport and apply these powerful chemicals, and to our environment. All this helps to explain why, despite assurances, survey after survey reveals that consumers continue to be wary of pesticides.

We are the best-fed country in the world, but this status comes with a tremendous price tag in natural and human resources. Billions of pounds of commercial fertilizers are used annually, and the use of pesticides made from petroleum to control weeds, insects, diseases and other pests helps explain why farming uses up more oil than any other industry.

America’s preoccupation with perfect-looking produce is a factor behind the continued demand for pesticides. A 1998 report from the National Academy of Sciences detailed how the food industry encourages the use of pesticides solely to maintain high cosmetic standards. A survey conducted on citrus fruits by Public Voice and another by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that, in some cases, over half the pesticides used are for purely cosmetic reasons.

To eat, or not to eat, should never be the question. No one wants to impair our ability to feed the nation. The focus should be on the direction agriculture should be heading. We all need to balance human needs with costs and environmental consequences. Agriculture cannot continue to operate using environmental “deficit spending.” Today’s output should not mean a loss of tomorrow’s resources. There needs to be a course that guides our agricultural environment back to health without impairing our current capabilities. Ideally it would be a balanced, sustainable system.